![]() Is there anything better than sharing in the enthusiasm of a child as they discover the world around them? 6 year-old Julien Loiselle takes us on a Wakefield trail tour and talks about the importance of getting out into nature and the thrill of spotting a ground hog. Or maybe it was an otter? Or muskrat? Does it matter? “Hello, I’m Julien Loiselle and I live in Wakefield, and we’re just going to show you a little tour around. We’re walking along the trail of Wakefield. I don’t know how the trails got here...I’m seeing ants, rocks. You know, I’m really into rocks…There’s more stairs coming up...We’re walking up stairs. These stairs continue for a LONG time! …I JUST SAW A GROUNDHOG!! I don’t know what it is but it might be a groundhog or something. Yup, I saw it. A beaver, or a groundhog, or otter or a muskrat….” Do we ever find out what it is that young Julien spotted? Listen to the full, youthful podcast here:
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Phoebe Miles took up running in 2010 and she just kept going . The Wakefield Trails are a big party of that story. Here are some excerpts from our conversation with her.
“I am a runner. I started when my son wanted to run that first Wakefield covered bridge run in 2010, and I had never run a race before. That was the year I turned 40 so there was definitely something about running with him and hitting a pretty big milestone….. So I went from 2010 running 5k to running 80k 8 years later. It’s become a huge part of my life…. I call it a dynamic meditation….Doing those long runs in the woods gives an opportunity for taking it slow and getting into your head and out of your head at the same time. Having a structured trail network for people to use, so that we’re not impacting tons of the forest but we have a place to go and a way to get there thru the woods is really important...It feels connected, both in body and with the things around me…connecting to something that’s bigger than me. Running on the trails, you can actually feel the earth…One of the things I do love is seeing community on the trails. It’s not like at the coffee shop or the grocery store – there’s another kind of interaction there…Having this network of community trails in Wakefield is a way for people to still go to the store and not walk on the sidewalk. Having that network in this community is pretty phenomenal.” Listen to the full, incredibly inspiring podcast here (you might have your runners on before its over): June 1st is InterNational Trails Day! Sentiers Wakefield Trails is celebrating by kicking off its June Fundraising Campaign. Our goal is to raise $10,000 before the end of month. Via social media and our soon to air podcast, the ‘Our Trails, Our Stories’ campaign will be sharing stories we’re busy collecting from people who have a connection to the Wakefield Trails and trails in general. Make sure to follow us on Twitter, facebook, Instagram, on our website and the podcast!
Forest trails are such an important piece of a community’s landscape and this is certainly very true in Wakefield. For the past 8 years, Sentiers Wakefield Trails, a volunteer group of outdoor enthusiasts, has worked tirelessly to create and maintain the 10 km trail system that runs in and around the village and provides easy access to the extensive Gatineau Park Trail system. Part of this trail is also a part of the Trans Canada Trail, also known as The Great Trail. We receive partial funding from the municipality but we greatly depend on donations from the public. Funds raised go towards:
Every donation gets a charitable tax receipt which will come in handy when you’re filing your taxes. And this year, we also have some great give-aways, provided by some wonderful local businesses – if you donate, you’re entered in the raffle! More info to come! Happy InterNational Trails Day!! |